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Federl Security Service thwarts large batch of contaminated Dutch flowers delivery

The pest which was in the flowers is harmful for more than 250 kinds of plants

YEKATERINBURG, August 7 (Itar-Tass) - The Federal Security Service (FSB) jointly with the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Control thwarted a big batch of contaminated Dutch flowers from the delivery to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.

An airplane from the Netherlands that was carrying about 40 tons of flowers arrived at the Yekaterinburg airport Koltsovo, the regional FSB department said on Wednesday. When passing the compulsory phytosanitary control Russian experts found that about 26,000 flowers with a total weight of 2.5 tonnes are contaminated with the plant pest titled western Californian thrips. “According to the Russian legislation, the foresaid cargo does not meet the requirements and is banned for delivery to Russia. The orders were directed to the consignee to destroy it,” the FSB department said, noting that this company is one of the largest flower suppliers in the Ural, Siberian and Far Eastern regions. The FSB department also added that this company tries to bring the produce, which does not meet the sanitary requirements, in Russia not for the first time. A batch of contaminated flowers was earlier found and destroyed in the Khabarovsk territory.

Californian thrips is a plant pest, which is spread on the limited territory in Russia. Thrips is dangerous not only by the fact that it damages flowers and decorative plants, vegetables and fruit, reducing the harvest this way. It can also transmit the viruses, which are germs of dangerous diseases of the plants. This plant pest is harmful for more than 250 kinds of plants.

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